Butterfly buns

I have a leaky roof and an  unhabitable bedroom, I also have a cold, and its raining. With this in mind I wanted to bake but something very very simple, not tasking and not requiring any ingredients not currently residing in my house.

I was flickiing through my new Mary Berry book and there they were, butterfly buns, the cakes of my childhood. And I felt like being a child just then so these were the perfect choice. 

I did swirl some rhubarb and ginger jam through the vanilla buttercream, mainly for prettiness but it does actually add a nice zing. This is purely an optional twist, you may want to keep your butterfly buns the pure vanilla goodies you remember from your youth.

Butterfly buns

makes 12

100g butter

100g golden caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

2 medium eggs

100g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp milk

30g butter

100g icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

tablespoon milk

1 tbsp jam, to swirl (optional)

Line a cupcake tin with liners and preheat the oven to 190C/170C FAN. 

Beat the butter and sugar under light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and egg until thoroughly combined. Beat in the flour and baking powder until just combined then finally neat in the milk.

Divide the batter evenly between the cases and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy. Make sure you check after 15 minutes, mine were done then.

Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool. To make the buttercream beat the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and milk together until light and fluffy. If using the jam take a tablespoon and lightly swirl it through the buttercream using a spatula (or spoon)

When the cakes are completely cold cut a round from the top of the cakes. It does not have to be too big. Divide the buttercream between the cavities you have made in the buns. 

Cut the excised piece in half and insert into the buttercream to look like butterfly wings.

Sometimes the simple things are the best, a butterfly bun is a delicious treat (its really just a precursor to the cupcake), full of memories. Yum.  

Jammy dodgers

The jammy dodger. A childhood classic. I like them if the biscuit is crisp and the jam chewy. I do not like slightly soft biscuit an mushy jam, it all gets a bit claggy

The homemade jammy dodger is a delicious thing. The biscuit is short and buttery and I like using a sharp raspberry jam, though of course traditional strawberry would work.

The ground almonds add a nice textural dimension to the biscuit as well as a subtle flavour. These biscuits are yum the day they are made but also remain good the day after, The second day the jam fuses to the biscuit slightly but the texture still remains crisp and distinctly non claggy, hurrah!

Jammy dodgers

makes ~15 depending on size

110g butter
45g golden caster sugar
100g plain flour
50g ground almonds
1/2 tsp vanilla paste/extract
80g raspberry jam (or other flavour)

Get ready a non stick sheet, if you are a little dubious about its non stick capabilities the grease it lightly with butter.

Put all the ingredients, except the jam, in a food processor and pulse until a dough starts to come together.

Remove the dough, using your hands to lightly bring it together. Shape into a flattish disk, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes to an hour. 

Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out to ~1/2 cm thick. Stamp out rounds and and equal number of rounds with a hole removed, or any shape of your choice. I did re-roll my trimmings once but I did not want to roll out the dough more than that.

Place the cut out biscuits onto the baking sheet and chill for 15-30 minutes. This will help stop the biscuits spreading as they cook. Preheat the oven to 140C/120C FAN.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, rotating the sheet(s) half way through for an equal bake.

Leave to cool for ~ 1 minute on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Soften the jam by giving it a stir. Use the softened jam to sandwich together the biscuits. 

They are best left to set up a little before eating. This of course did not stop me inhaling one immediately... 

Jammy coconut squares

I made these for Mark to take to work. In the interests of research I decided to try one. It turns out they are addictive and very scrummy. I could not leave them alone and ended up polishing off at least half over the course of 5 days. Oops. There were still plenty for Mark though, he also declared them scrummy. I can see these being made again in the not so distant future and I would not change a thing.

The only down side is that they do take a little time and effort, though they are not complicated. It is not a bake that can be made and cooked in under an hour. But as they say, good things come to those who wait!

Jammy coconut squares

for the base

175g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
30g butter
50g caster sugar
2 large egg yolks

for the topping

200g raspberry jam
175g dessicated coconut
175g caster sugar
4 egg whites
50g plain flour

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C FAN and grease and line a brownie pan, or similar with baking parchment.

Mix the flour and baking powder then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, then mix the egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of water. Add the egg mix to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Press the base into the prepared tin. Do not panic, there IS enough mix, you do have to press it really thin to get it to cover the base but are rewarded with a decent base later on. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden then leave to cool completely in the tin.

When the base is cool you can assemble the topping. To a saucepan add the coconut, sugar, one of the egg whites and 2 tablespoons of water. Gently warm over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and paste like. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Tip the mixture into a large bowl and let cool slightly.

Whisk the remaining 3 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir ~1/3 of the egg whites into the cooled coconut mix to loosen it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, half at a time.

Spread the jam over the cooled base, then top with the coconut mixture, making sure to spread it out evenly.

Place in the oven (preheated, as above) and bake for 25-30 minutes until the coconut is golden and toasted.

 Cool the mixture in the tin before cutting into generous squares! 

Rubarb and ginger Jam

I like jam but quite often it can be a little too sweet. This jam is perfect. The rhubarb adds a natural tartness and the ginger gives it warmth. If you are a ginger sceptic or have ever been put off by overpowering pure ginger jam, don't let this prevent you from trying this. It is so good I am not wanting to give it away, the original plan, and I am going to have to make more.

Thankfully it is rhubarb season now, and the forced rhubarb around at this time of year results in a beautiful sherbet pink coloured jam.

If you have never made jam before, don't be scared, this jam is neither difficult nor time consuming and the result is well worth it.

The recipe can be found on the bbc good food website and I urge you to give it a go.

Myself and the boyfriend tried some on home-made buttermilk scones and declared it truly delicious!

Viennese fingers with Victoria plum jam and Vanilla filling

For this months alpha bake challenge the random letter generator picked 'V'. Initially the brain goes into panic 'V', 'V'? But nothing beginning with V. Once you have told your brain off and are calm again you begin to realise just how much does begin with V.

And then of course the problem is deciding what to make. I really wanted to make a Victoria plum tart, but it is June and the plums will not be in season till September. So that was that idea done. Then it hit me, I could have my Victoria plums, not in tart form, but in the form of Jam!

I have also been wanting to make Viennese biscuits for ages but have never quite got round to it. Now is definitely the perfect time. Finally I decided to go for the triple whammy and add vanilla into the mix.

And here we have it, my entry for this months alpha bake, Viennese fingers with Victoria plum jam and Vanilla filling!

Alpha bakes is a monthly blogging challenge hosted, in turn, by Caroline from Caroline makes and Ros from the more than occasional baker. This month the host is Ros, anyone can join in, pop over to their blogs for all the rules and this months letter!